In a preliminary objection filed, the prosecution said the Court of Appeal has no jurisdiction to hear the appeal by Bung and Zizie Izette Samad against a decision by the High Court striking out their motion for a revision of a ruling handed down by the sessions court.
On Dec 9 last year, Justice Azhar Abdul Hamid allowed the prosecution’s preliminary objection to the motion.
Azhar said the couple had employed the wrong mode to challenge trial judge Rozina Ayob’s ruling at the close of the prosecution’s case calling for them to enter their defence.
Instead, he said, the couple should have made the request by letter to the High Court.
Lawyers M Athimulan and K Kumaraendran, who represent Bung and Zizie, respectively, confirmed being informed of the matter by the prosecutors handling the case.
“We have received written notification of the preliminary objection filed by the prosecution in the Court of Appeal. We will respond at the appropriate time,” Kumaraendran told FMT.
Deputy public prosecutor Law Chin How said the preliminary objection to Bung and Zizie’s appeal was lodged with the appellate court in February.
Prosecutors contend that Azhar’s ruling is not appealable as it does not amount to a “decision” as defined in Section 3 of the Courts of Judicature Act 1964.
This is because it was a ruling made in the course of a trial and did not finally dispose of their rights.
“Our stand is that the couple should be required to return to the sessions court to begin their defence since the High Court has disallowed their revision application,” he said.
The Court of Appeal has fixed the duo’s appeal for case management on May 22, when a date to hear the prosecution’s preliminary objection and the couple’s appeal is likely to be fixed.
On Feb 22, Rozina allocated 13 days in the middle of this year for Bung and Zizie to enter their defence.
The judge said she was fixing the dates as the case has been pending since 2019.
The trial is now scheduled to continue on June 15, 16, 26 and 27, and on July 10 to 14, 20, 21, 24 and 25.
The trial judge had previously assigned 14 days for the continued hearing, beginning Sept 26 last year, after she ruled that the prosecution had proved a prima facie case against Bung and Zizie on Sep 2.
However, the trial could not proceed as the High Court had stayed all proceedings pending the couple’s application for a review of the sessions court order calling for their defence.
The defence is expected to call six witnesses, including the couple, to give evidence.
Bung faces two counts of receiving bribes amounting to RM2.2 million and RM262,500 as gratification from when he was Felcra’s chairman.
He is alleged to have done so to obtain Felcra’s approval to make a RM150 million Public Mutual unit investment in June 2015.
Zizie faces three charges of abetting him in the commission of the alleged offences.